Fox News attacked for ignoring speech by Muslim American whose son died in Iraq
Khizr Khan told the Democrats' convention that his Army captain son would not have been able to save his troops' lives if Donald Trump's ban on Muslims had been in place
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Fox News has been criticised for failing to show a powerful speech attacking Donald Trump by a Muslim American whose son was an army officer killed in Iraq while saving his troops from a suicide bomber.
In a speech to the Democratic party convention that was widely covered by other TV stations, Khizr Khan, who moved to the US from Pakistan, told Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump: “You have sacrificed nothing and no one.”
But despite being hailed as one of the convention's most powerful speeches for its condemnation of Mr Trump's stance on Muslims and immigration, it was given almost no attention by the conservative channel, which has previously been accused of anti-Muslim sentiment.
Danny Schoen, a Minnesota state senator, was among those who noticed. "Fox News not playing the speech by the Muslim soldier's parents who died for America," he tweeted.
And Max Rosenthal, a journalist with the Mother Jones website, wrote: "Can't be said enough: last night the father of a fallen soldier gave a speech about patriotism and sacrifice, and @FoxNewswouldn't show it."
Mr Khan’s message to Mr Trump was delivered to rapturous applause from delegates.
“Let me ask you, have you [Trump] even read the US Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy," Mr Khan said.
“Look for the words ‘liberty’ and ‘equal protection of law.’ Have you ever been to Arlington National Cemetery? Go look at the graves of the brave patriots who died defending this country.”
Mr Khan’s son Captain Humayun Khan was killed in Iraq in 2004 attempting to prevent a suicide bomb attack, and was posthumously awarded two medals for saving the lives of his soldiers.
Mr Khan pointed out his son would not have been able to do this if Mr Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims entering the country had been in place.
Despite being screened by most other US channels, Fox News gave the speech just two minutes of air time without the audio during its rolling news broadcasts as adverts played.
However, Jay Wallace, the channel’s executive vice president of news editorial, told the Huffington Post: “We reported on the speeches and cited them throughout the evening and into today, as well.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments